Bama's McElroy named ESPN Academic All-American of the Year

By John Shryock| November 23, 2010 at 10:45 PM CST - Updated June 22 at 3:11 PM

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama senior quarterback Greg McElroy was selected as the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year in the Football Bowl Subdivision by the College Sports Information Directors of American on Tuesday.

Sophomore offensive lineman Barrett Jones also joined McElroy as a first-team ESPN Academic All-American. It marks Jones' second straight year on the Academic All-American team after garnering second-team honors a season ago. Jones is also the third Crimson Tide player to twice be selected as an Academic All-American, joining Johnny Musso (1970-71) and Randy Hall (1973-74).

"It is a great honor," McElroy said. "One of my goals when I came to school here was to be an Academic All-American. It is something that I set my sights on early in my career at Alabama. I am just very proud to be able to represent the University of Alabama and very honored to be selected as the Academic All-American of the Year."

McElroy becomes just the second Alabama student-athlete to earn Academic All-American of the Year honors. Stephanie Kite, a women's gymnast, was also selected as the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year on the At-Large Team in 2004.

McElroy, who is 23-2 as a starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide, graduated in three years with a degree in business marketing and is finishing his graduate degree in sports administration this fall. He completed his undergraduate work with a 3.82 GPA and has a 4.0 in graduate school.

McElroy is a National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete, receiving an $18,000 scholarship from the NFF and becoming a finalist for the William V. Campbell Award. He was also a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship. McElroy is a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He was named one of Sporting News' "20 Smartest Athletes," and selected as Alabama's Outstanding Undergraduate Student in marketing while earning the Marketing Senior Gold Certificate.

Jones boasts a 4.0 grade point average in finance during his third year of course work in Tuscaloosa. He is a two-time first-team All-District IV selection and was a second-team ESPN Academic All-American last season. He was a member of the 2009 SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll and the 2010 SEC Academic Honor Roll. Jones is also a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Lambda Delta, Golden Key Sigma Alpha Lambda and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

He has started 10 games for the Crimson Tide this season and 24 at right guard during his career. He missed his first career game against Georgia State after spraining his ankle in the Mississippi State game. Jones is an integral part of the Tide's offensive success this season with the Crimson Tide averaging 434.64 yards per game to rank 26th nationally in total offense.